Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes

﻿Introduction to brain imaging technologies﻿

﻿Brain imaging techniques is a term which covers a range of different methods used to produce images of the brain.

Images can be either structural (showing the structure of the brain) or functional (showing the activity of different parts of the brain. Two important concepts to do with brain imaging technologies are spatial resolution (the resolution of the picture produced) and temporal resolution (how long it takes to take a frame - so how accurately changes in the brain can be tracked).

Brain scanning techniques have already been discussed in some detail on the 'Brain Imaging' page, so re-read that if you are struggling to remember any details.

Focus on Command Term - Discuss

﻿Offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of arguments, factors, or hypotheses, presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.﻿

﻿Level 3﻿

It is going to be important in addressing this command word that you offer a balanced assessment, looking at both sides of the argument.

YOU ALREADY HAVE LOTS OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED FOR THIS QUESTION!!

In addition to the Brain Imaging page telling you about how these different techniques (e.g. PET, MRI and fMRI) work, and their strengths and weaknesses, we have also done a number of studies which you could use to answer this question!

H.M. and K.F. from the 'Cognition and Physiology' section of BLoA, both were studies which used MRI scans to investigate areas of brain damage, and then related the damage to deficits in memory function. Memory is a cognitive process... therefore they would be perfect to use here.

Tierney et al (2001) from the 'Brain Imaging' page is a PET study of language and brain damage. Language is another cognitive process... so another perfect fit for this question too!

In fact, you have so much previous material that you could use, that we'll only look at one new study here, investigating the cognitive process we looked at in the last page, decision making.

Assignment 1 - Abstract analysis

Here is the abstract to De Martino et al's paper:

Human choices are remarkably susceptible to the manner in which options are presented. This so-called “framing effect” represents a striking violation of standard economic accounts of human rationality, although its underlying neurobiology is not understood. Using fMRI we found that the framing effect was specifically associated with amygdala activity, suggesting a key role for an emotional system in mediating decision biases. Moreover, across individuals, orbital and medial prefrontal cortex activity predicted a reduced susceptibility to the framing effect. This finding highlights the importance of incorporating emotional processes within models of human choice and suggests how the brain may modulate the effect of these biasing influences to approximate rationality.

Write a brief summary in your own words of the main findings of the study and what these findings indicate about decision making.

What is the framing effect?

﻿The framing effect is another decision-making heuristic, where we react to a situation differently depending on whether it is presented as a loss or a gain.﻿

An example of the framing effect. These two outcomes are the same, but people react to them differently depending on whether they've had a positive or negative frame.

﻿One consistent finding of framing research is loss aversion; we feel the pain of negative outcomes more strongly than we feel the joy of positive ones.

What this means is that we are more likely to gamble or take a risk in a negative frame, because we are so keen not to lose out. In the example above, 78% picked Treatment B in the negative frame but only 28% did for the positive frame.﻿

Evaluating technology, in relation to the command term and cognitive psychology

﻿On the 'Brain Imaging' page there is lots of information evaluating all three main scanning techniques. The trick is to take the information, and to match it to the requirements of the command term and the question. Spend some time doing that with all three scanning techniques, starting with the assignment below:﻿

Assignment 2 - Pros and Cons of fMRI scanning

The section below is taken straight from the Brain Imaging page. Go through it and make notes which illustrate:

Are there any parts which need to be changed slightly to fit them to our new question and to cognitive psychology?

Are some points less relevant for this question? Are some more relevant?

Once you have done this for fMRI, also do it with the MRI and PET sections from the 'Brain Imaging' page.

Pros and Cons of fMRI scanning

﻿Because the equipment used for fMRI is the same as for MRI scanning, there are MANY SHARED EVALUATION ISSUES (such as the ones to do with claustrophobia, problems with metal objects, noise etc). ﻿﻿Also, similarly to MRI scans it has good spatial resolution (it can pinpoint areas to within 3-5 mm)﻿﻿. However... the following are specific to fMRI analyses:﻿

﻿Decent Temporal Resolution (it can 1-2 seconds). This is a big advantage over MRI which is just a structural scan - it can't show the activity of the brain at all.﻿

Measuring blood oxygenation is an indirect measure of brain activity. This has two problems. A) We can't be sure that areas with the most deoxygenated blood are actually the most active. B) Even if the area is more active, knowing activity levels does not help us to find out what that part of the brain actually does! Is it an on switch, or an off switch? Is it a connection? Does it do the job alone or with the help of other areas? Just looking at brain activity can't always help us to answer these questions.

The technique is incredibly complex to analyse mathematically. One problem with this, is that very complicated analyses may be suggesting relationships that aren't actually there are all! This has been a major source of debate in Psychology in the past few years. See the box on the right for more.

This article nicely summarises some of the challenges Psychology faces. Inaccurate and sensationalised reporting of findings by the media often doesn't help either. Despite this... brain scanning has revolutionised our understanding of the brain, and looks set to continue to do so... providing we advance cautiously and carefully!

22 mark section B question

All sections with a Level 3 command term can be assessed in a 22 mark essay (remember that a learning objective with a 22 mark command term could also come up as an 8 mark question, but not vice versa). Although any Level 3 command term could be asked, we'll concentrate on the one given in the learning objective, so the question is

Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes (22)

You will need to plan an essay which will be about 2-3 sides of A4 long, including a detailed focus on the command term.

The marking criteria are below. ALWAYS refer to these before you begin to plan your essay. It is crucial that you know what the examiners are looking for so that you can write exactly what is needed for top marks!

Planning a great 22 mark question

KNOW THE COMMAND TERM! This is absolutely crucial! A different command term requires a different style of essay, so you need to tailor what you write to the question. You will still be able to use the same pieces of information, but how you use them may vary.

PLAN PLAN PLAN! Every year the examiners' comments mention that essays which are clearly planned score the best marks. FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE! Don't be afraid to spend up to 10 minutes in an exam planning your essay (and longer earlier in the year when are learning and practising).

USE EVIDENCE! You have 2 detailed studies here to use, but you should also look to find triangulating evidence using other experimental methods or from other areas of the syllabus

EVALUATE! You must evaluate the studies you present. Evaluating means talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the study as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the level of analysis as a whole with reference to the question (e.g. reductionist explanation of genetics in some behaviour)